KCC Draft Budget proposals 2017/18
Kent County Council
Opens: 13 Oct 2016
Closes: 27 November 2016
Kent County Council (KCC) is asking for your views on its budget proposals and how it can close the remaining gap before the 2017/18 budget is finalised in February 2017.
In the introduction to its budget consultation KCC says that it faces a huge financial challenge in the years ahead and is working hard to protect the services that make the greatest difference to people’s lives.
The story so far
Each year KCC set a budget to decide how much it will spend on services for Kent residents and businesses for the next financial year and much income it needs from Government and local taxation to fund this.
It prioritises spending on services that make sure children and young people get the best start in life, that communities feel the benefit of economic growth, and that support vulnerable residents to live independently. It’s strategic statement annual report gives details of how it is ensuring every pound spent in Kent is delivering better outcomes for Kent’s residents, communities and businesses.
In recent years the amount of money available from Government has been decreasing while demand and cost for council services has been increasing. KCC expects this trend to continue in coming years.
Since 2010 we have made savings of £514 million to offset these challenges and continue to protect and invest in those services that make the greatest difference to people’s lives. These savings have focussed on the transformation of services, which means delivering better outcomes at lower cost, and working in more efficient ways. This has allowed us to continue to protect frontline services.
Where funding comes from
Funding for our budget comes from many sources in addition to Council Tax, including grants from central government.
The Government have published their spending plans for local government up to the 2019/20 financial year and the amount KCC receives in revenue grants will be less each year.
The gap
KCC has less funding from Government and increased pressure on spending as a result of rising demand for services, inflation and the living wage. This means that despite the savings it has already made, it still has considerable savings to find in the coming years.
KCC still needs to identify £108.3m for our 2017/18 budget. It is proposing a 3.99% Council Tax increase for 2017/18 to help fund some of this – but there will still be a gap between the amount of money it has and the amount it needs to spend to continue to deliver services. It will still needs to find £80.4m of savings to balance the books for next year. This trend looks set to continue in the following two years.
KCC is working hard to identify where savings can be found over the next 3 years by continuing it’s transformation programme, becoming more efficient and streamlining its services. But there is a gap. It still needs to identify savings of:
- £80.4 million for 2017/18
- £41.9 million for 2018/19
- £30.7 million for 2019/20.
We need your help to find solutions.
2017/18 budget
KCC is asking for your views on its budget proposals and how it can close the remaining gap before the 2017/18 budget is finalised in February 2017.
It is proposing a Council Tax increase of 1.99%. The Government also allows it to include a further 2% increase to fund extra spending on adult social care. This is called a social care precept.
This would mean its proportion of the Council Tax charge on a Band C property would rise from £1007.60 in 2016/17 to £1,047.84 in 2017/18.
These Council Tax changes, which include new households, would raise an extra £27.9m towards closing the gap. However, there will still be an£80.4m shortfall between the amount of money KCC has and the amount we need to spend to continue to deliver services.
Read more about the budget proposals below:
- Autumn 2016 budget statement (PDF, 1 MB)
- High level draft 2017/18 budget (PDF, 194 KB)
- High level 3 year medium term financial plan (PDF, 99 KB)
- Our 2016/17 budget
- Budget Book 2016/17 (PDF, 3.4 MB)
- Our current medium term financial plan
Your views
KCC welcomes your views to help it close the gap. To have your say:
- complete the online form
- balance the books using the KCC online tool (available from 4pm on 13 October)
The closing date for responses is 27 November 2016.
You can also respond by post (PDF, 24 KB) or to request the form in alternative formats email alternativeformats@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 421553 (text relay 18001 03000 421553).
Kent County Council 13th October 2016
www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/finance-and-budget/budget-201718